Sales Planning Manager - Work Group

WOLVERINE WORLDWIDE INC; Rockford (IL); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work schedule

Job summary

Wolverine Worldwide, Inc. is seeking a Sales Planning Manager to develop accurate, account-level sales forecasts for a defined wholesale portfolio. You will partner with Sales, Finance, Merchandising, Demand Planning, and Supply Chain to ensure forecast accuracy and alignment with financial goals.

The role requires managing forecasting processes, supporting account planning, and delivering timely analysis for IBP and brand milestones. A hybrid schedule with some travel is expected.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business or related field.
• 6-8+ years of experience in Sales Operations and/or Sales Planning.
• Strong analytics background with financial modeling skills.
• Proficiency in Advanced MS Excel skills.

Responsibilities

• Manage monthly sales forecasting for assigned wholesale accounts, collaborating with Sales and Finance.
• Support annual account planning with templates and analysis.
• Produce trend analysis for key accounts and sales territories for forecasting and inventory planning.
• Translate insights into accurate forecasts to support inventory planning and financial targets.
• Monitor sell-in, sell-through, bookings, backlog, and shipments; recommend in-season adjustments.

Skills

Sales forecasting

Cross-functional collaboration

Financial modeling

Advanced MS Excel

Analytical mindset

Relationship building

ERP systems

Communication

Forecast governance

Team supervision

Education

Bachelor’s degree in business or related field

Tools

ERP systems

Microsoft Excel

Job description

The Work Group at Wolverine Worldwide includes market-leading brands Wolverine Boots and Apparel, Cat Footwear, Merrell Work and Tactical, Bates, Harley Davidson Footwear, and Hytest. Across the Work Group there are 100+ year old businesses, global and domestic brands, as well as licensed and owned entities. Through building awesome products that blur the line between work and lifestyle, we tap into the collective power of all these brands to deliver our customers amazing stories and the trusted features they demand: comfort, durability, and style.

TheSales Planning Manageris responsible for developing accurate, account-level sales forecasts that support revenue growth and inventory alignment for a defined portfolio of wholesale accounts. This role blends strategic and tactical planning, leveraging historical sales data, market trends, and customer insights to inform forecasts.

Partnering closely with Sales, Finance, Merchandising, Demand Planning, and Supply Chain, the Sales Planning Manager ensures that sales plans are efficiently executed, accurate, and aligned with the brand’s strategic direction and financial goals. The role also delivers timely analysis, supports account planning, and contributes to continuous improvement of planning tools and processes.

Primary Duties:

• Manage the monthly sales forecasting process for assigned wholesale accounts, including the collection, validation, and consolidation of forecasts in collaboration with Sales and Finance partners.
• Support the annual account planning process by preparing templates, conducting analysis, and contributing to the development of account-level sales plans.
• Produce trend analysis for key accounts, sales territories, etc., on future seasons to enable accurate financial forecasting and to support inventory planning.
• Translate account-level insights, historical performance, and market trends into accurate sales forecasts that support inventory planning and financial targets.
• Monitor sell-in, sell-through, bookings, backlog, and shipments to identify risks and opportunities. Recommend in-season adjustments to forecasts and tactics to optimize performance.
• Partner with cross-functional teams—including Sales, Finance, Merchandising, Demand Planning, and Supply Chain—to ensure alignment between sales forecasts, inventory strategies, and financial goals.
• Own the setup, maintenance, and governance of sales forecast templates to ensure consistency, accuracy, and usability across accounts and planning cycles.
• Analyze sales forecasts to Mid-Range Plan (MFP), Long-Range Plan (LRP), and Corporate Finance targets to ensure alignment on volume, margin, and style adoption goals. Identify and communicate variances and recommend adjustments as needed.
• Deliver timely and accurate reporting and analysis to support Integrated Business Planning (IBP), brand milestone meetings, and other key forums.
• Assist in the continuous improvement of forecasting tools, templates, and processes to enhance accuracy, efficiency, and scalability.
• Provide planning support for new product launches, seasonal transitions, and key account initiatives.
• Perform all duties in alignment with company AAP/EEO policies and carry out additional responsibilities as assigned.
• Performs other duties as required/assigned by manager.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in business or related field
• Diverse functional knowledge required for the role is typically developed by having 6-8+ years of experience in Sales Operations and/or Sales Planning.
• Intellectual curiosity and a desire to use data to identify and illustrate product sales and market trends
• Strong analytics background with financial modeling skills
• Proficiency in Advance MS Excel skills
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships both internally and externally.
• Ability to understand LRP and Corp Finance Targets and ensure projected volume / MFP outputs are in alignment
• Has a broad understanding of Merch, Planning and Supply Chain functions; processes and ERP system
• Ability to negotiate and gain cooperation between functions
• Ability to continuously solve problems with independent decision making.
• Ability to provide managerial supervision to team members.

Working Conditions:

Normal office environment. Travel may be required.

Wolverine Worldwide has a flexible, hybrid work schedule, with three days in office and two days remote.

Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE: WWW) is a global footwear and apparel company driven by a vision toMake. Every Day. Better.Founded in 1883, the Company builds and grows iconic brands including Merrell®, Saucony®, Wolverine®, Sweaty Betty®, Chaco®, Hush Puppies®, Stride Rite®, HYTEST®, and Bates®, along with footwear licenses for Cat® and Harley-Davidson®. Headquartered in Rockford, Michigan, the Company’s products are sold in approximately 170 countries and territories worldwide. For more information, visit www.wolverineworldwide.com.

In 2025, the Company was recognized by Footwear News as Company of the Year, by Forbes as one of America’s Dream Employers, America’s Best Employers for Women, and America’s Best Employers for Company Culture, and by Inspiring Workplaces as one of the Most Inspiring Workplaces Globally.

Wolverine Worldwide is a Certified™ Great Place To Work®.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed and are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills which may be required.

Wolverine Worldwide, Inc. is committed to creating a company that is as diverse as our consumers. We value the differences in one another and believe our differences make us stronger. Our diverse and inclusive corporate culture starts with the recruitment process. We are committed to being an equal opportunity employer. We aim to create equal opportunities for our associates, customers, and suppliers regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other legally protected characteristic.